Five people in the city have tested positive for swine flu (or H1N1 virus) in the past week. However, none of the patients are critical and there is no need to panic, said civic health officials.

Five people in the city have tested positive for swine flu (or H1N1 virus) in the past week. However, none of the patients are critical and there is no need to panic, said civic health officials.

The five patients tested positive after submitting their samples at Super Religare Laboratories (SRL), the only accredited laboratory to test for the H1N1 virus.

Three of the five patients belong to the same family in Mulund. The family includes a six-year-old child, his 37-year old father and 57-year old grandmother, said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The other two patients, both in their 50s, are friends who travelled to Alibaug recently, said civic authorities. While one of them lives in Bandra, the other lives in Parel, according to a spokesperson from SRL.

Last week, BMC officials conducted a surveillance of 150 families in Mulund and Bhandup to check citizens for the H1N1 virus. None showed symptoms of having contracted the virus. Accor-ding to Mhaiskar, similar checks were carried out in areas where the other patients reside and no other cases were spotted.